Sri Vijaya Puram, Sept. 11: India’s deep-tech innovation ecosystem took centre stage in New Delhi on Friday as the two-day Bharat Innovates Exposition opened at Bharat Mandapam, bringing 37 Indian startups into the spotlight ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13.
The exposition, organised by the Ministry of Education in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, seeks to connect innovations emerging from India’s higher education ecosystem with global stakeholders, including companies, investors, incubators, universities, research institutions, governments and overseas alumni.
The BRICS Bharat Innovates (BBI) Exposition features 37 deep-tech startups selected from the original cohort of 120 ventures that participated in Bharat Innovates 2026 in Nice, France, from June 14 to 16. The Delhi edition aligns with the theme of India’s BRICS Chairship 2026, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
Held alongside the BRICS Business Forum on Friday, the exposition gives participating startups an opportunity to engage with CEOs, investors, business leaders and industry representatives from BRICS member countries. The programme is designed to facilitate business-to-business engagements, technology partnerships, investment discussions, business linkages and access to international markets.
The initiative also supports one of the five priority areas identified under India’s BRICS Chairship 2026: “Enhancing Research, Innovation and Start-up Ecosystems” under the BRICS Education Track.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Education Minister Pralhad Joshi and BRICS leaders are expected to visit the exposition, along with senior Indian and international delegates involved in the BRICS Leaders’ engagements and business representatives from member countries.
For the participating startups, the Delhi exposition provides access to BRICS CEOs and investors, opportunities for B2B meetings and structured matchmaking coordinated with FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM. It also provides visibility before heads of state and government and a platform to pursue international commercial and diplomatic opportunities.
The event builds on the Education Ministry’s engagements under India’s BRICS Chairship. The Ministry hosted the 3rd BRICS Senior Officials’ Meeting on Education on August 5 and the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting on August 7 in Bhubaneswar.
The ministers’ meeting adopted the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Declaration, covering five areas: early childhood care and education and foundational literacy and numeracy; skill development and TVET; research, innovation and startup ecosystems; mutual recognition of qualifications; and capacity building for academic leadership and institutional development.
